Watch The Big Picture - New German Army

Experience the American Journey through our country's visual heritage in this historical recording provided by the National Archives of the United States. From the U.S. Army's "The Big Picture" television series, 1950-1975. "THE NEW GERMAN ARMY" DOCUMENTARY FOR TV. This unusual program spotlights the political, economic, and social background which brought about the creation of a military force for the free, Bonn Republic of West Germany. Appearing in the film is West German chancellor, Dr. Konrad Adenauer. In flashback form, using captured German film of World War II vintage, this exciting chapter of THE BIG PICTURE traces the rise of the German nation, from the bitter depression days of the 1930s, through the rise of the Nazi party to the infamous "Blitzkrieg" of Sept. 31, 1939.
In striking fashion, the producers of the program summarize, pictorially, the forces which led to the ultimate downfall of Germany as a world power. The postwar partition of Germany is shown, and viewers are shown the famed, "Berlin Airlift" of 1949. An important plank in the founding platform of the NATO nations is the creation of a German Army. The addition of a free West German force will bolster the ranks of NATO nations in their unified stand against aggression. The American Army was assigned the important task of training the nucleus of this "new" German Army. No relation to the earlier German "Wehrmacht," this German Army will serve as a home guard, protecting free Germans from border violations from the East.
Finally, the cameras swing to the U.S. where visiting Germans get the know-how to take back home. They have come to the very best instructors in military projects, American Army officers and men, shown in this program, at the task of training the leaders of "The New German Army."

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